Visualizing Benefits: A Systematic Approach to Benefits Management via a Digital Platform
We are embarking on an exciting project to build a digital platform that tackles one of the most challenging areas for project managers and organizations - Benefits Management. Despite its increasing importance in recent years, many organizations find themselves navigating the complex world of benefits management with no clear direction. This is where you come in. By joining our project, you will be at the forefront of creating a solution that demystifies benefits management. You will help provide clear and streamlined processes for planning, monitoring, and reporting, ultimately leading organizations to success in their benefits management endeavors.
In the ever-evolving landscape of project management, benefits management stands as a crucial yet perplexing area. Despite the emergence of various guides in recent years, the practical application of benefits management remains a daunting challenge - a challenge that has been effectively addressed by only a few. A prime example lies in the application of benefits management in digitalization projects in the public sector in Norway. The tools currently in use give rise to significant doubts and disorientation, leading to an opaque understanding of benefits management and its real-world application. These tools, characterized by their rudimentary nature, decentralization, and poor traceability, result in the misidentification of projects' benefits and disbenefits. Consequently, the genuine impact of these projects—beyond mere costs and economic returns—remains unrealized and unknown in most cases. Our project is poised to change this narrative! We are looking forward to creating a digital platform aimed at providing a clear and comprehensive foundation for organizations to understand and implement benefits management effectively. From the planning stage to the realization of benefits, our platform will centralize and simplify the process. It will facilitate the identification, monitoring, reporting, and realization of benefits and disbenefits throughout the entire project lifecycle. This is not just a project. It is a mission to transform the way organizations perceive and execute benefits management. Do you have the drive to innovate, to influence, to make a real difference? If so, we invite you to join us on this transformative journey, shaping the future of benefits management and being part of the solution!
Goal
The main goal of our project is the creation of a digital platform that establishes the foundations to guide organizations during the planning, monitoring, and reporting processes in and by benefits management. To do so, the following secondary goals should be addressed:
- Design and implement a database containing the main characteristics of benefits management (i.e., project, funding program, benefits/disbenefits, goals, products, risks, stakeholders…).
- Design and implement a clean and usable user interface for project registration, monitoring, updating, and reporting on relevant aspects of benefits management throughout the whole project lifecycle. This interface should consider two types of users: organizations and funding institutions. A project has to be created by an organization and can apply for specific funding programs (which must also be able to be registered on the platform).
- Develop the logic of the platform that connects the database with the user interface and allows for the following functionalities, among others: 1) sign up and login; 2) creation and registration of projects and funding programs; 3) insertion and updating of data; 4) application to funding programs; 5) granting of funding; 6) monitoring and control of the status of the project regarding benefits management; 7) generation of reports (e.g., official documents related to the application for funding, benefits realization plan, final report…).
Learning outcome
You will gain knowledge about:
- Benefits management (a hot topic in the project management and IT development worlds)
- How organizations and, specifically, the Norwegian public sector manage IT projects
- New insights on web application development
Qualifications
- Good up-to-date programming skills (mainly oriented to the programming and deployment of web-based platforms).
- Familiarity with project management frameworks (e.g., PMBOK, PRINCE2...).
- Discipline, creativity, pursuit of excellence, teamwork, and good organization to work on challenging projects.
Supervisors
- Jose David Patón-Romero
